Two Demigods, Seven Years: Book One
by ThatRandomPJOFangirl
Summary: What do you call two children with a goddess for a mother and a wizard for a father? Ask Rita and Meryl. They're the first to exist.
1. Prologue

"Well, here it is!"  
Ricki the satyr brought the two girls up the hill. It was three days before Meryl's birthday, January 20th.  
"And you're sure our dads know about this?" said Rita.  
Ricki nodded.  
"In that case-"  
Rita lay down on the hill and began rolling down it.  
"What is she doing?"  
Meryl shrugged, and after a pause, said, "But it looks fun!" and joined Rita in her rolling to Camp.  
Ricki jogged down the hill after them, and stood in front of them, chuckling as they lay sprawled in the grass.  
"Hey Ricki?"  
"Rita?"  
"Can you move over? You're blocking the sun."  
Meryl nodded in agreement.  
"Ah, no. C'mon, I have things to do and you need a tour."  
The girls got up and followed Ricki.  
About an hour later, they had finished watching the orientation video and Ricki had left them with Bella, a daughter of Hermes. After their tour of the Camp, they were late to dinner and only had a few minutes to eat before it was time to go to the campfire.  
Just as they had finished 'This Land is Midas's Land,' Meryl and Rita were claimed as daughters of Athena.  
"Well," Meryl said to Rita, looking at their owl necklaces (Rita's was silver and blue, Meryl's was gold) "This explains our strange love of owls."


	2. My Birthday: Meryl

Yay. No, really. I couldn't wait for my first birthday at Camp Half-Blood.  
"Watcha doin?"  
Rita peeked out of her shiny blue curtains, which she had hung up soon after she picked the bottom bunk. The girl liked her privacy.  
"Looking up American to English money conversions."  
"Uh, why?"  
"We're British. Who says we won't go to London someday?"  
This bit is true. Our fathers are British but live in the US.  
And we were able to use our iPods because Leo Valdez had figured out how to make most mobile devices safe for demigods, excluding cell phones. But we could FaceTime and iMessage safely. Most demigods now owned an iPad or iPod for this reason.  
"Fine. Hey, do you know what tomorrow is?"  
"Uh, last time I checked, Tuesday?"  
I gave her my 'Really?' look.  
"Yeah, and your birthday."  
"Yay! Whaja get me?!"  
"Aww, that would ruin the surprise!"  
"It's midnight. Technically that means-"  
"Eleven fifty-five."  
"Ugh."  
"Go to bed."  
"Like you should talk?"  
Rita didn't sleep much. She took thinking to the extreme, and it kept her up at night.  
Rita closed her curtains, but I could still see the glow of her iPod and her Kindle, most likely she was reading and listening to AJR, her newest favorite band. Or maybe Avril Lavigne. Or P!NK. Or- well, you get the idea.

The next day, when I woke up, Rita was in my face. Literally.  
"AHHH!"  
She snickered.  
"Happy birthday!"  
She handed me a box the size of one of our novels. I opened it up, and saw a dream catcher that was crimson and blue leather, bronze and white beading, with white feathers.  
"Wow!"  
Normally my favorite colors were blues, but this made me want to change my mind.  
"It's beautiful!"  
Rita smirked, like 'I knew this was coming. I am the master of presents!'  
"Now, come on. Everybody let you sleep late, but you have to do _something_ today."  
"I'm hungry."  
"Exactly."  
I got out of bed and got dressed, wearing jeans, a red and blue plaid top and brown leather boots. Rita was wearing her aqua hi top Converse, her favorite t shirt, white with aqua chevrons, and ripped cropped black leggings.  
"What, no Doc Martens?" I said, referring to her British flag Docs.  
"Nah, we need a bit of color today."  
We had a late breakfast of french toast, before going down to the arena, where an obstacle course had been set up.  
There were hurdles and tunnels and stairs and long pools of water and trees to climb up. There was even one section that was a bouncy house. At the very end, there was lots of color, and I could here music.  
"Your birthday party is on the other side."  
"So..."  
"That's right, Meryl. Just me and the obstacle course in the way of your party."  
I paused for a moment.  
"Game on!"

A small tunnel. I go though it. Rita climbs over it.  
I blockade of trees. Climb until there's an opening.  
A pool of water. Jump over it. I nearly fall in. Rita pulls me forwards.  
A set of hurdles. Jump. Jump. Jump. Jump.  
A set of stairs. Run, run.  
A rock wall. Like, an actual rock, a boulder.  
Climb up, climb across, jump down.  
The bouncy house part.  
A forest of waving inflatable tentacles.  
Push through.  
A foam pit.  
Go, go.  
A long trampoline.  
Jump. Jump right into the middle of a party.  
 _ **"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MERYL! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"**_


	3. Party Don't Start Til I Walk In: Rita

I woke up at about six in the morning. Totally unusual for me, but it was my birthday. Yay! June fourth, and I planned on being up early so I could have some time to myself. When I stepped back into the main room of the cabin after a long, hot shower with the window open to let in the early summer breeze, there was a tray with iced tea (sweetened, and with lemon) and chocolate chip cookies. Next to the tea was a scrap of paper that said:

"Happy Birthday! To find your present, think of the first day here /Look for another slip of paper, to find the chicken and capers.

Chicken and capers? As in one of my favorite dinners? Ever? First day... I ran to the other side of camp, where I could see a small piece of paper stuck to a tree branch along with a package about fifteen feet off the ground on Thalia's tree. "Great." I had bad experiences with pine trees. Long story. Even though I knew Thalia was a person again, I couldn't help saying, "Sorry!" as I put a foot on one of the lower branches. A few minutes and almost a panic attack later, I reached the top. I snatched the paper and shoved it into the waistband of my shorts, grabbed hold of the small package, and climbed my way down. I brushed the pine needles off my shirt and black denim shorts. This paper read:

"Don't yet open your present/First go to the place your 'enemies' find pleasant.

Ha. Me and several of the Aphrodite girls had an inside joke that we 'hated' each other, when in reality I couldn't love Felicity, Jessica and Kristyn more.  
I found the next paper glued to the Aphrodite cabin door along with a pair of platform flip flops. Meryl knew I wanted to look taller.  
Speaking of, I also opened the package from Thalia's tree. It was a mint-coloured bikini, with ruffles on the top piece. It was actually kind of nice, considering usually I hated bikinis and swimming in general. Normally I wouldn't touch the water, but I assumed wading in the shallows wouldn't do me any harm, right? Besides, we'd probably be dancing most of the time. This piece of paper said:

"Now you've got your presents, make sure they don't fit wrong/Then come to the shore to get your beach party on!"

I rushed back to the Athena cabin and stripped off my clothes as I shucked off my Converse, strapped on my swimsuit and pulled my shorts back over my bottoms, and then shoved my feet into my flip flops as I ran out the door. As I approached the beach, I could hear my playlist and I could see brightly colored streamers and balloons. And among the smell of salt water, I could smell -guess what?- chicken and capers. I saw Meryl walk over to me, wearing one of her new favorite colors in a red and navy striped one piece suit under a pair of jeans shorts. I ran over to her and hugged her.

"You are so awesome!"

"I know."

"Shut up."

"Enjoy your party!"

"How could I not?"

"Dunno."


	4. What Happened In Diagon Alley: Rita

I woke up about a month and a half after my birthday and got out of bed. I had known I would be too lazy to shower in the morning, so last night I had even blow dried my hair, which was a massive chore despite its length.

The heat was like an electric blanket over everything. I put on a white tank top that had planet Earth on it and a pair of denim shorts. I plugged in my earbuds and was hit with the first verse of Smile by Avril Lavigne.

Meryl was up just as soon as I was, and put on a black tank top and a loose pair of plaid shorts. Meryl won the award for _Maddest For Plaid,_ and I told her so. Just after, there was a knock on the cabin door. When Meryl opened it, Ricki had already raised his hand to knock "Ricki?" "The one and only. Chiron wants to see you."

Then he saw a younger camper struggling with a sword nearly twice his size and ran to help. Meryl and I slid on our sneakers and slowly made our way towards the Big House. It was so hot that even though it was early, the dew on the grass had evaporated already.

"Ahh, I've been expecting you, girls! Come in, come in."  
Chiron opened the door before we could knock. We sat down on the couch and Chiron handed each of us a letter. Mine said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Ms. LaRayn,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July

Yours sincerely,

Filius Flitwick

Deputy Headmaster

"What the-"

"Young ladies, not only is your mother a Greek goddess, but your fathers were both wizards. You are the first demiwizards in recorded history." That's when I sat down and dumped the pitcher of water sitting on the coffee table over my head. Meryl collapsed onto the couch. "Ah, well... that was interesting." Chiron handed me a towel and Meryl (snickering at my over-dramatic reaction) a glass of water, already prepared, as if he were anticipating that would happen. "Hey, how was I supposed to know I didn't have heat stroke? I could have been hallucinating!" "But you weren't." said Chiron, looking just a bit amused. "One last thing. This school is in England."

I looked at Meryl. Meryl looked at "Hey Rita?" "Yeah?" "Wanna do that stupid jumpy thing that excited girls do?" Meryl and I grabbed hands and jumped up and down screaming, "WE'RE GOING TO ENGLAND!" over and over again for a good thirty seconds. "Now, somebody should be here to take you shopping for your school things right about-

" _Puff!_ went something outside. "Ello? Ah, you must be zis Meryl and Rita I have heard about!" said a beautiful French lady with platinum blonde hair. "Sorry we're late. Victoire had a, em, mishap with a hairdryer. I don't know how she and Fleur handle so much hair." A man with a terribly scarred face and thick British accent walked into the room, but it wasn't hard to look at the two of them with curiosity instead of anything else. The Greek gods existed. Demigods had seen weirder things. "Rita, Meryl, this is Fleur and Bill, two wizards who will be taking you to Diagon Alley to shop for your supplies. Enjoy their, hmm, method of travel!" He handed each of us a list that said:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2\. One plain pointed hat (black)  
3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings,)  
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry a name tag.

 **COURSE** **BOOKS**  
All students should have one of the following:  
 _Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_  
by Miranda Goshawk  
 _A History of Magic_  
by Bathilda Bagshot  
 _Magical Theory_  
by Adalbert Waffling  
 _A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration_  
by Emeric Switch  
 _Magical Drafts and Potions_  
by Arsenius Jigger  
 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_  
by Newt Scamander  
 _The Dark Forces: A Guide To Self Protection- UPDATED VERSION_  
by Quentin Trimble

 **OTHER EQUIPMENT**  
1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR cat OR toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"And we need to buy all of this?"

"With what?"

"I believe your fathers each gave you a budget for which you may buy your own school things." Bill said. Fleur held up two small bags and jingled them. "Let's go shopping!"


	5. What Happened In Diagon Alley Pt 2: Rita

"You should probably change into something a bit warmer." Bill said. "London isn't quite as hot." I went back into my cabin and a few minutes later came out with jeans (unusually), an old t shirt and black Docs.

Frankly, these people were making me a tad nervous, so I muttered some Jon Bellion under my breath to calm myself down. _"I wonder why I get paranoid..."_

"So, what Chiron meant by our way of travel was something called Apparition." "What now?" said Meryl, who was standing there in a thin white sweater, black leggings, and tall brown leather boots.

"You'll see."

Bill took Fleur's hand, and Fleur put an arm around Meryl, and Meryl and I looked at each other (confuzzledly) before grabbing each others' hands quite fiercely, and suddenly there were tight bands of pure pressure around my chest, and I felt like I was being shoved into a particularly tight water parktube slide, with all the water behind pushing me along. I could barely breath, but I kept singing, just to hear myself and know that I was alive.

 ** _"I GUESS IF I NEVER FELL, I GUESS I WOULDN'T NEED GRACE-"_**

Then, the pressure bands let up, and I could begin to breath better. Soon enough the song was ending, and at the same time I could tell that just then we would be wherever we were going, but then the scream was already out of my mouth-

 ** _"SO MAYBE I DON'T KNOW, AND MAYBE THAT'S OKAY!"_**

I opened my eyes and I was in a nice-looking, sun-shiny street, and was getting strange looks from people who looked, as I thought then, much stranger in their robes and witch hats.

"More kids Bill?" said a man who had just walked up behind Bill. "Shouldn't I have known if my brother had had more children?" It was then that I realized that the man was flaming red-haired like Bill, and had the same long nose. A woman with frizzy brown hair tied back in a ponytail came over to us, and gave me an expression quite like the others I had received, the same mixture of pity and amusement, but hers was much more understanding.

"First time Apparating?" she asked kindly.

Bill nodded at the same time as me and Meryl.

"Couple of demiwizards," he said to the others, lowering his voice.

"But we're just going to say they're both Muggle-borns."

The woman gasped.

"I thought they-" she looked at us.

"You didn't exist!" she self-corrected.

"Hermione, I doubt anyone else cares!" the man laughed.

Hermione made a face at the man.

"Ron, you haven't changed since we were thirteen!"

Bill messed up his younger (I was guessing) brother's hair.

"Hermione's right about that too! And no, demiwizards didn't exist, previously."

"Why can't they just say they're half-bloods though?" Hermione asked.

"They'll get teased less, I know from experience!" she added..

"Wait, how do you know about half-bloods?" I asked. Hermione looked at me oddly. "I think we're talking about different kinds of half-bloods." Bill Bill explained to all of us demigod half-bloods and wizard half-bloods, but that not all pure-blooded wizard families were stuck up about it ("Like the Malfoys!" Ron offered, and Hermione elbowed him, but she didn't disagree).

"Now," he said after all of that, "Can we please go buy your things?" Ron nodded, and said, "Yeah, Harry and Ginny were supposed to come with us, but Harry had Auror things to do, so he's coming later today. We're all going to have dinner." A little boy (say, eight or nine?) and a girl our age ran over to us. "Daddy, you said you'd be five minutes!" "Mom, I had to sit in Flourish and Blotts with him for half an hour!"


	6. The Hogwarts Express: Meryl

I woke up on the first of September feeling more excited than I had in a while. Shoving off my covers, I leaned over the side of my bunk and pulled Rita's curtains apart.  
"RITA RITA RITA RITA RITA!"

Rita shot up and banged her head on the bottom of my bunk, and glared at me when I started snickering. But she was out of bed before me, and we raced each other to the bathroom, which was un-occupado, as most of the campers had left and those who hadn't were up early like they would be on a normal camp day, whereas we were given special permission from Chiron to sleep just a bit later, as long as we were up before nine.

Rita beat me to the bathroom, but I had showered yesterday so I got dressed. I put on a white top that had quarter sleeves made of lace, light wash jeans and (rather unwillingly because I didn't know what else to wear) a pair of plain white flats. I took out a plain white headband and put that on, as well as my gold-rimmed glasses.  
Rita came out of the bathroom about a half hour later wearing the same pants she had worn to Diagon Alley, and a lined light blue tank top with her Docs. She pulled on her leather jacket and me a gray button down sweater. Rita looked at me.  
"You are _such_ a first-year Hermione."  
"Excuse me?!"  
Of course I knew what she was talking about, we had both gotten our own sets of the seven-part biography of Harry Potter, I just didn't think I was anything like Hermione, the nice frizzy haired woman we had met in Diagon Alley, in The Sorcerer's Stone.  
"Am not!"  
"Are so!" she said, picking up Ocean, her Russian Blue kitten.  
I looked down at Blaze, my beautiful screech owl. "Well keep your cat away from my bird!

Rita scoffed. "Ocean is a baby! Your bird is more likely to eat her!"

Rita picked up her wand, Beech, 12 3/4 inches, very bendy, with a unicorn hair core. Mine was oak, 10 1/2, slightly stiff, with a unicorn hair core as well.

"They're so pretty." Rita said wistfully.  
"Yeah, well we'll be able to use them soon enough."  
It was 9:50.  
"Let's get breakfast. Our trunks are already packed, there isn't much left to do."  
"Hey Rita?"  
"What?"  
"Your hair dye came out."  
"WHAT?! THE BOTTLE SAID IT WAS PERMANENT!"  
She rushed to the nearest mirror, and when she made sure her new blue highlights were still there, she glared at me.  
"That was for telling me Rose Tyler came back again in The End of Time Part Two and got chopped into pieces."  
"That was last year!"  
"And?"  
"Ugh."  
"Breakfast?"  
"I want pancakes."  
"Raspberry, blackberry, and strawberry!" we said at the same time.

* * *

At 10:45 on the dot, Bill and Fleur Apparated into the middle of the space in front of the Big House with a CRACK! that made a few campers jump and stare, but they all shrugged it off. The Greek gods existed; they'd seen weirder things.  
We were standing on the porch with our trunks, Blaze in her cage, and Ocean in Rita's arms.  
"You know what time it is?"  
We nodded and walked over to each sat on our trunk, and Rita made sure she had a good hold of Ocean and I held Blaze's cage in my arms. Bill and Fleur stood in between us, Bill put a hand on my shoulder, Fleur put a hand on Rita's.

Then came "the tube slide feeling" as Rita called, but not quite as strong, since it was our third time Apparating.  
When I opened my eyes, we were in a busy London train station. Don't ask how I knew. You learn this stuff after so many years of Doctor Who, Sherlock, etc, etc, etc.  
Ron and Hermione were both there with their kids, who I'd learned were named Rose and Hugo. Both sets of parents began lecturing the three of us (the ones about to get on the train).  
"Don't get into trouble!"  
"Don't cast curses you can't undo!"  
"Remember to wash behind your ears and brush your hair!"  
"Don't fall in love with a pureblood!"  
Fleur hugged both of us.  
"Now, we left Dominique and Louis with Victoire. Goodbye, and stay safe!"  
And Bill and Fleur were gone.  
"Right. We're off to see the Potters-"  
"Like, _Harry Potter_?!"  
"Erm, yes? Now, I'm Rose will see you on the train-"  
"Dad! I can talk for myself! And yeah, save me a seat in whatever compartment you find!"  
"Will everyone please stop interrupti-"  
"Ron, honey?"  
"Yes, sweetie?"  
"Nothing, I just wanted to interrupt you."  
This set of Weasley parents gave us fleeting hugs as well, and we dragged our trunks onto the train. It was 10:58.  
All the compartments towards the front were filled, but the farther back we got, they thinned out. Finally we came to a compartment close to the very back, that was empty. We both sat down and stared out the window.  
"Meryl!""Rita?"

"It's him!"  
"Him who?"  
"Harry Potter!"  
We both stared out the window as Mr. Potter waved to a boy that looked _exactly_ like him get on the train. A few seconds later, as the train began to move, Rose and the boy walked into our compartment. "I told you they would save us a spot!" Rose exclaimed.  
I would like to say that we welcomed them in, but Rita and I were too busy staring at the boy.  
Rose laughed. "This is my cousin, Albus."  
"Hi, I'm Rita, this is-"  
"Meryl. I'm Meryl. Nice to meet you."  
Albus sort of half-smiled at me, and I half-smiled back.  
He sat down and took out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  
"Yours isn't packed?" I asked.  
"Nah, I wanted something to read on the trip."  
"Awesome!"  
"Can we see?" Rita said, craning her neck to look at the book. "Well, I for one, am going to take a nap." Rose said, taking off her coat and using it as a pillow on the long cushioned seat.  
Albus moved into the center of the seat so each of us could see on either side of him and see the book. We all took turns, chapter by chapter, reading the book out loud to each other.


	7. My Brother And His Friends: James

Earlier I'd seen my brother walk into this compartment, perhaps 3/4 of the way through the trip to Hogwarts, and I wanted to apologize for teasing him about Slytherin.

Opening the door slowly, I turned around (having been facing the other way trying to figure out what I was going to say), "Hey, Al, I'm sorry about the Slytherin thin-"  
I smirked and decided to leave my brother where he was when I saw him with a pretty girl on either of his sides. They hadn't even looked at me until they realized I'd stopped talking.  
"Yeah James?"  
"I'm just sorry about earlier."  
"Nah, you were just being your normal annoying self."  
Oh of the girls, the one on his right, gasped and tried to hide a smile, while the one on his left didn't, and burst out laughing, a loud laugh, not the girly kind my cousin Victoire has.  
"I didn't think it was that funny." I said, aware that the girl on Al's left was staring at me a bit. She had a long, skinny build, which was a bit odd, because I could tell she wasn't tall or anything, she was quite clearly a first year, two years younger than me, and the average height for it.  
She had a brown pixie cut with blue highlights, and wore a leather jacket over a blue tank top.  
Her chin had an thin cleft that was kind of hard to see, and her face was thinnish and edgy-er than the other one's, and she had a larger bust than most of the first year girls I'd met. She had a slight tan, and that made her gray-blue-green eyes look even brighter and flashier.  
The other girl had a much deeper tan, and her hair was long and shimmery gold-brown. She had gold-rimmed glasses and gray eyes.  
She had a bit of a rounder face and was slightly shorter than the other, and was more muscled.  
"Oh, this is Rita-" he pointed at the one that was staring at me, and was smirking now, like she was planning something. "And this is Meryl."Rita stood up and stretched her hand out.

"Nice to meet you."  
I took her hand, but before we could shake she had lifted my arm and twirled under it like we were dancing, then pulled my arm back down and pinned it to my back.  
"Oi!"  
She let go, dusted off her hands and removed her silver hoop earrings.  
"You were right, Al. He really isn't that quick. Meryl, hold my hoops."  
"How's this for quick?"  
I made a grab for her arm, but she twisted behind me and kicked the center of the the back of my knee softly, and I nearly buckled over.  
"Not very good, actually."  
I turned around to kick her in the shin, but she grabbed my foot and pulled it up, so I fell onto my butt.  
Raising my hands in surrender, I said, "Uh, truce? Why do you know how to do that?"  
She offered her hand again. "C'mon, I won't bite. I'm just well trained in self-defense."  
I took her hand and she pulled me up.  
"Nice to meet you."  
"You, too. Next time, please try not to maim me."  
She sighed.  
"Ok, fine, but only because you said please. So, which house are you in?"  
"Gryffindor," I said proudly. "Nearly everyone in my family has, though Albus here might be the first Slytherin."  
"Thanks, I'm perfectly fine with the whole school know I'm wittier than you, considering it's so normal anyway."  
Rita laughed again, and this time Meryl snickered with her.  
Rita stared at me again, and I self consciously flattened (or tried to) my messy black hair, which Albus and I shared with my dad.  
"Um, you aren't going to try and kill me again, are you?"  
Rita blushed a little, and I was happy that I was able to embarrass her as well.  
"Well, um, see you guys at the sorting. Hope you all are in Gryffindor."  
I heard a small voice behind me say, "I won't."When I turned around, I was incredibly surprised to see Rita looking at her shoes as thought they were more interesting than what house she would be in. She had plugged her ear buds into her iPod, and I heard her muttering some lyrics.

"Rita?"  
I was surprised at how concerned Al seemed.  
"What house do you think you'll get?"  
"Ravenclaw."  
"That's great! Great Quidditch team, great dorms, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws are friendly-"  
"Yeah, but you guys will all get Gryffindor, and then I won't see any of you..." she looked at me. "But it would be fun beating you at Quidditch."  
"What?"  
"I'll bet you're a Seeker like your dad."  
"How did you know?"  
Meryl interrupted.  
"I think my best friend is in love with your dad."  
Rita mockingly punched her in the shoulder.  
"If anything, she is."  
"You have a problem with me being a fangirl?!"  
"I do when the guy actually exists!"  
"Percy Jackson exists! That doesn't stop you from fangirling over him!"  
"Percy Jackson? Isn't he a book character?"  
Rita's eyes opened wide and she stared at Meryl with a " #%$ you!" look.  
"Um, yeah. Rita-"  
"And I." Rita cut in.  
" _And I_ are in love with the books."  
"Um, ok. Anyway, Rita-"  
He whispered something in her ear.

"But that's just the thing! I don't know if I want Gryffindor!"  
Rita had tears in her eyes, but they didn't escape her eyes.  
"Look," I said, sitting down next to her.  
"The Sorting Hat knows what it's doing."


	8. Sortation: Rita

This was it. James had stayed with us the rest of the ride, and I was severely embarrassed that I had almost cried. I just didn't do that. Not only that, but it was extremely hard to keep up a fake accent while whining. I tried hard to get my previous swagger back, but it was "Hey! Didn't our dads say this school would be in England?" "Huh? It wasn't our- oh, yeah, they did. What, it isn't?" "This is clearly Scotland." "Man, Rita, for somebody who's supposed to be upset, you still have your attitude." I glared at James, who held up his hands in All of a sudden, the castle came into view. "This place is what, five times the size of the school we would have been going to?" I said to Meryl "Looks it." "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" came a large, booming voice through the walls of the train. "That's gotta be Hagrid. He's half-giant. See you at the Sorting!" James messed up his brother's hair and ran off, joining up with a few other third years, including a couple giggly girls. I gagged. Albus saw my expression and smiled. "I don't much care for my brother's company either." he said with a smirk not too different from James'.

The next few minutes went by with a bit of a whirl. A rather large, kind man (who I assumed to be the aforementioned Hagrid) was taking me, Meryl and Albus into a boat, then we were in some sort of stone hall with a small man who introduced himself as "Professor Flitwick, Deputy Headmaster."

First years were ushered into a reverse-alphabetical line that led to a worn hat sitting on a pedestal behind a chair. Meryl and I had been holding each other's hands, but we were separated by a tall, dark woman with a list.

 _ **I hope you all are ready**_

 _ **To let me in and see**_

 _ **If perhaps you're meant for Ravenclaw**_

 _ **Where sharp minds ought to be**_

 _ **Or maybe you're for Gryffindor**_

 _ **If what you're all about**_

 _ **Is bravery and selflessness**_

 _ **There, you'll find it all around**_

 _ **But you could be in Hufflepuff**_

 _ **Where kindness is on top**_

 _ **They're always ready to help out**_

 _ **Always ready to lend a hand, and pick up a broom or mop**_

 _ **Now don't worry all you Slytherins**_

 _ **I surely haven't forgotten you**_

 _ **For this house**_

 _ **Only the most ambitious will do**_

 _ **Now come and try me on**_

 _ **Though you really don't have a choice**_

 _ **I imagine it must be fun**_

 _ **To wear a hat with a voice**_

We all clapped for the Sorting Hat and it's song. The sorting began, and- then it was almost Albus' turn to get up. When his name was called, the entire hall cheered as they had with Rose. Albus took the hat and set it on his head. Everyone sat with baited breath for the next few seconds. After what felt like hours, the hat spoke. "SLYTHERIN!"

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Finally, from the Gryffindor table, James began to clap. The Slytherin table joined in, and then a mild round of applause followed.

Soon, Scorpius walked up to the hat. It really didn't need very long to decide what house he was in. "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table cheered, Albus included. Then there was "Longbottom, Lucy." I hadn't spoken to her yet, but she looked more like her mother than her father, small, pale and blonde. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled, and once again everyone clapped. Then it was my turn. "LaRayne, Rita."

I slowly climbed up the steps and placed the Sorting Hat on my head.

 **I think you're a Ravenclaw.**

 _But-_

 **Which house do you want?**

 _That's the thing. I don't know!_

 **Maybe Slytherin?**

 _No! Not Slytherin!_

 **You've been dreading this.**

 _Yes, I have._

 **I think you'd do best in Ravenclaw.**

 _I do sort of want to be a Ravenclaw. But I can't imagine being anywhere but with Meryl, and she's sure to be a Gryffindor._

 **Actually, correct me if I'm wrong, daughter of Athena-**

 _How do you know?_

 **Mind reading?**

 _Oh, yeah, that was in_ Hogwarts, A History.

 **Anyway, Athena is the goddess of wit and war, right?**

 _Something like that._

 **Ravenclaws tend to be quite smart. And tough, when they need to be.**

 _But, well..._

 **You wanna be in the same house as JAAAAAAMMMMMEEEESSS! HAHAH!**

 _Oh, shut up! And so what if I do? I dunno, watching Meryl beat him Seeker-To-Seeker wouldn't be so bad..._

 **She looks like she'd be a Chaser. Or a Keeper. So will you let me put you in Ravenclaw?**

 _I think we have a deal._

 **All right, hope you enjoy being a** "RAVENCLAW!"

I lifted the hat off my head and let the cheers ring out a around me. Walking over to Meryl, I whispered, "Is it because of my blue hair?"

She laughed and shoved me in the direction of the Ravenclaw table, walked up to the Hat, and placed it on her own head. One, two, three, fou-"RAVENCLAW!" "YEEEESSSS!"I screamed and cheered louder than anyone else at the Ravenclaw table.  
"Now then," said Headmistress McGonagall, who'd looked rather terrifying earlier, "Let us eat!"


	9. Deputy Falls: Meryl

"RAVENCLAW!"  
Rita screamed at the top of her lungs, which I'm sure didn't faze her. She was quite good at screaming.  
"YEEEESSSSS!"  
For once, she was the one tackling me, and I nearly fell into the table, and then the Flitwick guy yelled, "Let us eat!"  
Tons (literally, I think) of food appeared on the table, and Rita and I each gave ourselves large portions of steak, salad, and mashed potatoes, (and 'chips') as we didn't recognize many of the names being tossed around.  
"Pass the mince pies!"  
"Can I have some haricot beans?"  
"Who has _kipper_ for dinner?!"

Later, we were taken up to the common room by Gemma Ridly, a 16 year old prefect. No, not _Riddle_ , _Ridly_. Hush up.  
"Welcome to Ravenclaw! As far as I know, all of the other houses have passwords, but in Ravenclaw, you have to answer a riddle to get in."  
"What brew makes you swoon the hardest?" asked an eagle knocker on the door at the top of the oh-so-long staircase.  
"Amortentia."  
The door opened, and we were led into a breathtaking, huge, circular, airy room, that had a midnight blue carpet, arched open windows (it was warm) hung with blue and bronze silks, and the domed ceiling was painted with stars. It had long, blue cushioned benches and bookcases. There was a large white marble statue of a pretty woman with a circlet on her head in the middle of an arch with two doors, one on either side of it.  
The one on the left said, "Girls" and the one on the right said "Boys."  
"Alright, then, boys, that's your way up- girls, follow me..."

We went up short staircase, with seven doors along the side. The top said, "Seventh Years" and the one we were shown to said, "First Years."  
The beds were hung with blue and bronze, and there were large, arched windows like the ones downstairs. My bed was across from Rita's, our trunks were already there, along with Blaze on my trunk, and Ocean asleep on Rita's bed.  
Rita pulled something out of her trunk, hopped onto her bed, closed her curtains, and emerged about a minute later in pajamas- a large blue t shirt and sweatpants.  
I did the same, and put on a set of a cream colored button-down and matching long pants.  
"I don't want to sleep."  
"Wow, Rita doesn't feel like sleeping? Why is it that I'm not surprised?"  
Rita made a face at me.  
"Night Rita."  
"Night Meryl."  
Rita closed her blinds, but I could see the familiar glow of her Kindle screen. I doubted they had electricity here, how would she charge her devices? I decided there were more important things to think about as I fell asleep. The sound of the wind through the windows was comforting. Suddenly, I remembered Bill and Rita having a hushed conversation just before we got onto the train. She had showed him all of her electronics, and Bill wrote something on a slip of paper. Perhaps he, as a curse pro, knew a spell for that purpose. Fancy Rita.

*******************************************************************************************************  
Ravenclaw.  
Ra-ven-claw.  
With Rita. The same house.  
I opened my eyes and saw blue somewhere.  
Rita likes blue.

But her eyes are gray.  
I like blue.  
My eyes are brown and gray.  
James has brown eyes.  
Albus has green eyes.  
James and Albus look like Harry Potter.  
He's their dad.  
Funny.  
Ravenclaw.  
Ra-ven-cla-  
"Meryl?"  
"Mmm-hmm Rita?"  
"What are you saying?"  
"Huh?"  
"You were talking about eyes and colors."  
"I was contemplating the meaning of life."  
"Whatever, get up."  
It was then that I looked past my now open blinds and saw that all the other Ravenclaw girls were hopping into jeans and sliding on robes and adjusting uncomfortable bras, if need be.  
But somehow they seemed to be grooming themselves more than I expected _Ravenclaw_ girls to.  
I also noticed how late it was.  
"Don't classes start today?"  
"Erm... they were supposed to... but there's a bit of a special occasion..."  
"Hm?"  
"Flitwick fell down the stairs... he's fine, but he retired."  
"And?"

"We're getting a new teacher!"  
"Lovely."  
"Aaaaand a new Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress!"  
"Ok, I think I get it."  
"Ugh. Rumor is, _Alexis Falls_ is going to be the new Deputy Headmistress!"

"Whom?"

Rita rolled her eyes.  
"Alexis Falls is apparently the best Defense Against The Dark Arts professor since Remus Lupin. The new professor is going to take over Flitwick's class. That's Charms. They're saying that the Defense professor is going to be the new Deputy."

"Alexis Falls."

"Exactly. Gemma was in here earlier. I don't know all the details."  
"She told you who the Deputy Head would be?"  
"Well Gemma doesn't know _for sure_ , but, really."  
"You are rather into this, aren't you?"  
Rita gave me another face.  
"Hurry up!"

She was already wearing black combat boots, patterned shorts, and a black, long-sleeved shirt.

I gave her shorts the look. Really?

"What?" She had no idea how cold it was, clearly. I put on a gray sweater, jeans, and tall gray boots. "Let's go."

We ate waffles for breakfast, the whole hall in an odd silence, like any moment something might happen.  
All of a sudden, a very young woman with black hair just below the shoulders and long, choppy side bangs walked up to the stage and it's podium. Headmistress McGonagall stood next to her.  
"As new head of Ravenclaw house," she began.  
"Ravenclaw?!" I hissed to Rita.  
She gave me a withered look.  
"I thought you knew!"  
"I am proud to say that I will also be your new Deputy Headmistress! We are greatly saddened by our previous professor's leave and we hope that our new professor will fill the void in our lives. You know, the void that we expect would have already formed even though you first years haven't experienced a day without Flitwick. Just pretend there's a void."

Everyone snickered.

"Now, as Professor Flitwick was our Charms professor, the new staff member we welcome in today will be taking over that class. I give you, Lilo Ray!"

A pleasant-looking blonde man walked onto the stage with Falls and McGonagall.

"Of course, nothing has happened to poor Ginlott, no matter how many pranks are pulled on him!"  
Laughed flew throughout the area from everyone but the Slytherins; apparently he was their head of house.  
"Now, thanks to all of this, you have the rest of the day off! Let's just hope I know how to be a Deputy Headmistress!"  
Alexis Falls seemed to never stop talking and laughing. She reminded me quite a bit of Rita. As the students dispersed back to various areas of the castle, I caught her eyes for a second. Bright blue-green.  
 _Rita likes blue._


	10. Herbology Hotness: Rita

I absentmindedly stared across the great hall, watching Scorpius chat with some newfound friends. Watching the way he ran his hand through his blonde hair, and his gray eyes twinkled when he laughed- "Rita!" "I snapped around. "What the hell Meryl!" ""You were about to soak your sleeve in orange juice." I looked down and realized she was right. I took a swig of my drink, and poked at my french toast. Meanwhile, Meryl waved at Albus a table away, and pointed at me. Both of them laughed. Blushing, I downed the rest of my orange juice, and stuffed the last piece of french toast into my mouth. Dusting the cinnamon off of her sleeves, I stood up. "Off to class, then!" I said, trying extra hard to sound British. Before Meryl could ask why I was so eager to go to Herbology, I had raced off to the girl's bathroom. Pulling two items out of my robe pockets, I rubbed the red lipstick onto my mouth. When I had finished that, I painstakingly perfected my mascara. I fluffed my hair and wiped a smudge of lipstick off my teeth. Picking up my books, I walked out of the bathroom."Rita!" Meryl said, running up to me. She looked at my lip colour but didn't say anything. "Come on, we have Herbology with Slytherin!"

As if I needed reminding. "We'll get there first!" I told her pridefully."Show them who the better house is!" Meryl smiled. "That's my Rita!" She grabbed my arm and we jogged down the halls. As we went, I saw Albus say hello rather distastefully to James- or, rather, to James's friends. Albus smiled at James, and rolled his eyes as he walked away."Nerd boy has low-key sass," I muttered to myself. "What's that?" Meryl asked. "Oh, nothing!" Don't get me wrong, Albus is chill. But tbh here, he's the kid in the Last Friday Night music video. Except he's Meryl's type, even if she doesn't know it yet. Albus is the nerd in the movie that ends up with the best friend. He's a cool person. I'm not sure if we'll ever be close friends, though.

We pushed through a set of wide doors and came upon the Herbology greenhouse. Seeing only a couple of Slytherin students, I felt rather pleased with myself, knowing the majority of the Ravenclaw bit of this class was on my heels.  
When I saw Scorpius walk in, I was surprised at the amount of Slytherin garb he wore. We had each received several house-coloured items, including vests and shirts and ties and things. I chose to wear a pair of light coloured cropped jeans, the vest, and the tie. Meryl, however, wore a skirt, an undershirt, a vest, and a tie. Talk about overdoing it. Scorpius had on a long sleeved white undershirt, like the one Meryl wore, and an argyle white, gray, and green vest. He also had on a gray tie. He wore black pants, and black dress shoes. Hmm. Were the fancy shoes his father's doing?

Meryl and I stood in front of the greenhouse, waiting for Professor Longbottom to come out. "Alright everyone!" he said, walking out of the greenhouse in all of his glory. I'm serious. Professor Longbottom was really hot. "I wonder if the greenhouse is as hot as him!" I said to Meryl. She blushed and mock-smacked my arm. I rolled my eyes. I loved Meryl to death, but I needed somebody I could talk about guys with.  
"Let's head inside, and we will began First Year Herbology!" We all stepped inside the greenhouse, and sat down on benches on the far side of the building. "I used to be a loser," Longbottom began, "And everyone made fun of me. Then, I helped Harry Potter. I became famous. But Herbology has always been my favorite, not chopping the heads off demon snakes!" The girls in the class giggled.

"I got married, and I had a daughter. She's actually in school here right now! Please tell her how embarrassing I was!" the professor said, with a smile as big as the Atlantic. "And now, I am going to teach you Herbology. I know a lot of people don't like it, but gardening can be very relaxing. l try not to make you all fall asleep."

I smiled. "Excuse me, sir?" Everyone stared at, which obviously was the plan. "The Potters and the Weasleys said to say hello!" I touched my owl necklace, drawing attention to my jewelry and well-manicured nails. I saw all the eyes of the male students fall where my hand landed. Including Scorpius. I bit my lip, another thing I planned. That would draw attention the lip color, red, which has been scientifically proven to- "Lovely!"  
Now people would wonder how I knew the Potters, which would add to my mysterious persona. Nobody knew my parents, yet I had an accent (HA!) so obviously I was from the local wizarding community, right? Or was I muggle-born? Then how did I know the Potters?! Then Meryl piped up. Oh, Meryl! "Yeah, my cousin and I are friends of Rose's!" Dammit Meryl! Oh well. It didn't ruin the plan. I discreetly stepped on Meryl's foot. She glared at me.  
You could say that I was a bit too focused on my appearance. That is a complete understatement. Looking back, I was so concerned with how I thought I looked to people that I often ignored what they really did think. I was so ahead of myself. As a first year, one does not need to focus on reputation. But honestly, it did help to have one.  
"Now, let's get down to things," the Professor began. "You will all be planting a magical garden this year! They will be planted in sections due to the amount of students. Ours will be planted here, in the courtyard.  
"You will begin by choosing your plants. No fighting please, trust me, there are plenty of seeds."  
Professor Longbottom then directed us to a large table, which was covered in seed packets.

Adropretisia

This large flower grows in several shades. Pink, blue and purple are the colours they can be found. Feather-like petals are laced with a substance similar to unicorn blood, which makes any person within close proximity to them feel very pleasant. This is why they are often used as gifts.

Hadrijoul

"This plant closely resembles the muggle flower 'phlox.' However, it was first discovered in the dragon-breeding grounds of Arabia, and is often used as the bottoms of nests. This is because dragons have a far better color range than both muggles and wizards. To them, Hadrijoul is the shade of the inside of a dragon egg, and makes dragons feel relaxed and comfortable. Oddly enough, it is show to have the same effect on different species, including human kind.

Teensaweed

Although the name ends with 'weed,' this plant is more of a tall, brittle grass. It was discovered by Newt Scamander while trekking throughout the Americas. It's roots, if consumed, will render a person complete disuse of their own language, instead speaking Spanish, French, and Azerbaijani.

Those are the plants I picked. Meryl chose the following:

Keder

Keder is a bright yellow, daisy-like flower that drastically decreases feelings of sadness or other negative emotion in any person to sniff it. Wizards and witches originally put it in pipes or rolled it in cigarettes, and smoked it. This was outlawed in 1567.

Floreza  
This bloom is so large and so low to the ground that families if mice often reside in them. They have no known magical properties other than occasionally changing colour.

Caliotius

Calioti flowers are very attractive to insects, which is very unfortunate for certain species, which the Caliotius will swallow whole.

I think Meryl wants to do something involving bugs with her career. I however, want a wizard job!


	11. Awake: Meryl

Rita eventually fell asleep that night with a book on her face. However, tonight I sleep, and I lay on my back, looking up at the blue canopy above my bed. Ocean the cat slept daintily perched at the foot of Rita's bed. It was quite stupid of her to name the cat Ocean when she's terrified of water. Pools, she can handle. Oceans and lakes? Forget about it. I thought perhaps that was an Athenian trait as well. I got tired of staring into space, so in my plain navy blue pyjamas I walked barefoot out into the common room. I wasn't stealthy, that was Rita, light and lithe. But somehow I managed to make it to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw without making much of a noise. I sat cross legged on the marble floor, and stared up at her beautiful face. Rita always said brains and beauty didn't go together, you were one or another. I didn't believe that though. She only thought that because the one part of her body she relied most on was her brain. She didn't think she was pretty, no matter how she tried.  
I don't know quite when I dosed off, but when I awoke it was about three in the morning. I stood stiffly up and crawled into bed, the warm blankets inviting. They always seemed to be warm when she wanted them to be. Rita was always very warm, somehow. Her body temperature simply radiated heat I suppose. She was always the ideal bath water temperature, as odd as that sounds. I rolled my eyes and prepared for the daunting task ahead of me. The second day of school.


	12. Pureblood: Rita

I looked down at my schedule. I had Potions first period. I put a piece of French toast into my mouth, barely aware of the obnoxiously loud Gryffindor table. Finally, I turned to the side and looked. James was wrestling with a couple of friends, and a group of girls sat across from them, giggling. I rolled my eyes and looked in the other direction, which happened to be the Slytherin table. My eyes moved from where the attractive fifth years were sitting to where Scorpius and Albus were talking quietly. The Slytherins had a certain grace and elegance to them. Freshly ironed robes, perfectly parted hair, shoes that clicked against the floor tile.

Just as I was about to return to my toast, Scorpius' eyes caught mine. It was just for a second, but it was enough. Meryl was sitting next to me, deep into a conversation about owls with a gangly Ravenclaw boy called Luke who I assumed was looking for more than owl chats. I put an arm on Meryl's shoulder and looked Luke in the face. "Sorry, I'm taking my friend back!" Meryl looked at me, a confused look on her round face. "We were talking about owls!"  
"He was looking at your boobs."  
"I don't have any Rita! He was actually asking about you at first!"  
I bit my lip. Please, I said to myself. Boys are like playthings. "Sucks for him! He's not my type."  
Meryl gave me a patronizing look. "Meryl, don't look at me like that? Would you prefer I lead him on or something?"  
She looked like she was about to give up.  
"Besides, now he can tell all the pre-pubescent nerds what a bitch I am."  
I knew instantly I shouldn't have said that. Meryl's face hardened. "Just in case you forgot, we are in the nerd house."  
She got up and walked back to the dormitory.

So I thought, screw it. I got up and walked right over to the Slytherin table. Casually, I sat down in-between Albus and Scorpius. I put an arm around each of them. "How are my favorite little snaky boys?" I said.  
A couple of obviously Pureblood Slytherin girls looked at me like I was a roach. My hair was short, not quite a pixie cut, and very sleek and professional looking. My sidebangs had been artfully tinted blue with some help from the Aphrodite cabin, yet the dye came out during my first Hogwarts shower. But my face was thin, and I had high cheekbones, big eyes and full lips. I wasn't pretty, but that didn't mean other people didn't think I was. In their eyes, I was a roach of competition. I was worthy. I wasn't pale or tan, just the right tone to make my skin glow, and make my gray eyes stand out even more.  
"And you girls are?" I said, with a smirk. I might have just made an enemy. I offered a hand to the girls. "Ms. Rita LaRayn!" When they heard my last name, they stiffened. Scorpius pretended to reach across the table for more orange juice, but he whispered in my ear, "You're a pureblood."  
"And that's my erm, my cousin over there. Meryl Jamerst."  
Scorpius grabbed some bacon. "Pureblood family too,"

Suddenly the girls were much friendlier. "I'm Jeanette Roquin," said the stawberry blonde girl with green eyes and small lips. "Alousia Alcove," chipped the girl with the lustrous black girls and tea colored skin. "But you can call me Lo, and Jeanette goes by Jeanie."  
"You have such a great name!" Jeanie told her. "It's not all long or hard to pronounce, but it's not simple either. You don't even need a nickname!"  
"Really? Thanks! I always thought Jeanette was a gorgeous name. And I met a girl called Alousia in Paris!"  
At this point I wasn't here for Albus and Scorpius anymore. "You've been to Paris?" asked Jeanette. "My dad and my uncle took me and Meryl for Christmas last year,"  
That was only half true. Me and Meryl's dads were rather good friends but they were only related through Athena. Students started to trickle out of the Great Hall and Rita looked over at Meryl. "Gotta go! We have Herbology together right?"  
"See you then!" Lo piped in her high voice.  
"Who are they?" Meryl asked when I made my way back to the Ravenclaw table where Meryl was standing up and ready to leave. "I think I just made us some new friends!"


	13. Tying Ties and Braiding Hair: Meryl

Halloween and Thanksgiving came and went. December 1st a twenty foot tree went up in the Great Hall. Rita's hair was beginning to grow, and Rita, Jeanie, Lo and I were becoming closer every day. Sometimes I thought Rita should have been put in Slytherin. But I was her best friend, and that was what mattered. We'd received letters from our dads telling us the Jamerst and LaRayn families would be spending Christmas together. Rita and I were a bit worried about that. Ever since our dads found out they had fallen for the same woman at the same time, things had been a bit tense between the two of them. But one week before Christmas, I piled into a compartment on the Hogwarts express with Rita, Lo, Jeanie, Rose, Scorpius and Albus. Rita was French braiding Jeanie's strawberry blonde hair while Lo and I played chess against Albus and Scorpius. Lo and I watched as Albus put our king in checkmate. "Dumbledore's beard!" yelled Lo, and Rita snorted.  
Rita pulled out a speaker and an MP3 player.  
"Do you remember we were sittin there by the water, you put your arm around me, for the first time!"  
Rita and Jeanie started singing with everything they had. I can't carry a tune, but Rita and Jeanie sounded pretty good. "You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter!"  
The song ended and everyone applauded, even Albus and Scorpius.  
Rita beamed. "I got Jeanie into Muggle music!"  
Twenty-seven Taylor Swift songs and an album and a half of One Direction later, the Hogwarts Express pulled into King 's Cross. Jeanie, Lo, Rose and I all had artisan hairstyles courtesy to Rita. Scorpius' hair was long enough for Rita to give him cornrows. "I should probably take these out," he said. "Before my dad sees them."  
Rita nodded and undid and hour's work of meticulous hair braiding in two minutes. "Since when have you been as to do that?" I asked her. "One of the black Athena girls taught me."  
Our dads waited for us, talking to some other wizard parent. The mystery guy turned around and I nearly fainted. Why was dad talking to Mr. Weasley?! "Rita!"  
I pointed and her eyes followed my finger. "Well shi-" "C'mon guys! Rose yelled and grabbed Rita by the arm. Jeanie and Lo waved goodbyes and yelled see-you-soons.  
Rose, Rita and I walked off the train together. Rose coughed when her dad didn't notice her. He and my dad were having an intense discussion about cauldrons. "Ah, Rose! How are you, love?" "Good!" Rose gave Mr. Weasley a hug. I noticed Albus staring at a pair of retreating blonde figures. It was Draco Malfoy, with a hand on his son's shoulder.  
"You must be Meryl and her best friend Rita! I've heard loads about both of you."  
"Da-"  
British accent, I reminded myself. "Dad, what exactly did you say?"  
Mr. Weasley laughed. "Don't worry, he hasn't gotten around to showing me baby pictures!"  
I blushed hard, and more laughter followed. Rita was talking to Mr. LaRayn, and was tsk-tsking about his tie. "You've done an awful job going about this!" she said. Rita's relationship with her father always made me laugh. My dad walked over to his best friend and put an arm over his shoulder. "She's right, Rob. You've always been pretty crap at ties."  
That was was I knew that Christmas would be great.


	14. Albus?: Rita

Meryl touched the bronze-gold owl on her necklace. She was wearing a Ravenclaw sweater, one of many provided upon being shown your spot in the bedrooms. I remembered finding the pile of bronze, blue and eagle-emblazoned clothing on my pillow. Upon arrival to Hogwarts, an older prefect had slipped me the wifi password (it was 'lemon drops') so there was no need for me to binge all the new episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashions. Christmas break had been fantastic. It was just like old times. Our dads might as well have been married because they raised me and Meryl together. Nothing seemed to have changed.

With new music on my iPod and a rather frosty cold nose, me and Meryl pulled robes around ourselves and stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. Albus, Rose and Scorpius were waiting in a compartment for us, and as minutes ticked by we began to think Jeanie and Lo were going to miss the train. Just as the whistle blew, the compartment door banged open and there they were, snowflakes resting in their hair. Jeanie sat down next to me and slumped back into the seat. "That was a bit close to call!" she said. Lo rolled her eyes. "Then maybe don't check 37 times to make sure you packed your favorite sweater!" Jeanie stuck her tongue out at Lo.

We played a few- well, several- many games of chess. "Fight me Weasley" "Gladly, you slippy snake!" "Slippy snake?" "Shut up."

Ocean slept on my lap, with Rose sitting on my left side and Albus and Jeanie on my right. Scorpius, Meryl and Lo sat on the opposite bench. Jeanie and Meryl were deep in conversation about how to properly wear plaid, and Lo and Albus were talking about how they to take pictures of the giant squid when it swam past the Slytherin dorm. A while into the ride, I paid for a box of chocolate frogs and sat back to a listen to music. "You guys can have some, but seriously, don't eat all my frogs!"

I flipped through all my new music (I was starting to like Jon Bellion a lot) until I found a playlist I'd spent about an hour fine-tuning. After about fifteen shuffled songs played, I noticed something. Scorpius could have been in his own world, his own universe even. At first I thought he was staring into space, but I followed his gaze. It led to Rose. I smiled to myself. They'd be cute together. Albus seemed present enough in the conversation, but his eyes were clearly clouded with thoughts. He seemed to be very focused on something on the opposite side of our compartment. He was looking at Meryl! Awe. But, wait... could he be looking at Scorpius like that? No, I thought. Albus would tell us if he was gay, or into guys at all.

I must have fallen asleep during a game of charades, because I woke up with Ocean's nose in my face and several of my friends poking me and generally trying to wake me up. After we hauled our things into the Great Hall, we waved goodbye to our Slytherin friends as they walked to their table, and Rose as she made her way over to Gryffindor. Dinner was excellent, as usual. There was spaghetti for dinner, which warmed me up nicely after sitting in the cold train compartment for three hours. When dinner was over, Meryl and I made our way to the dormitories to unload our things. Meryl made a quick trip to the owlery to drop off Blaze.

When most of us had settled into bed, I leaned over to Meryl, who I hoped wasn't asleep.

"Meryl!"

Meryl groaned and sat up. She glared, or rather tried to glare at me, because her glasses weren't on and without them she was blind. Meryl couldn't see me. I watched her roll over to her nightstand and put on her glasses. "Isn't that better?" I asked. She glared at me properly this time. "Rita, what in the name of bloody Dumbledore do you want?!"

I smiled. "So," I started. "Albus." "What about him?" "I dunno Meryl. He's a bit cute." "Ha.. no- well he's, I mean, maybe." She was getting flustered. At this point I knew everything I needed to know. "Goodnight Meryl" Meryl looked at me incredulously. "That's all you woke me up for?"

"I nodded. "Goodnight!" I rolled onto my side and listened to her scoff at me before going back to sleep.


	15. Professor Falls Trolls The Class: Meryl

Defense Against The Dark Arts was an interesting class. Our first lesson ever, Ms. Falls instructed us, "Prepare to have your minds blown!"

Minds were blown.

At first it seemed that it was a textbook class, without action like Charms or Transfigurations. But the deeper we delved into a subject, the more Professor Falls had to amaze us with. For instance, our first lesson learning about trolls:

"Trolls are very different from giants- don't get the two confused. Not only will a giant beat you senseless if you call them a troll, but recognizing a troll quickly gives you more of an opportunity to deal with it quickly, whether you choose to subdue it or kill it. On page 13 of your textbook, you will find various simple spells which you could use against said troll. Partner up and take notes."

Our second lesson:

"Trolls are incredibly stupid. Really, it's miraculous that they can function at all. Prehistoric trolls, rather, the ancestors of present day trolls- were in fact eerily similar to the trolls we see today, showing little to no signs of evolution. They seem to have not improved since they first started swinging sticks at each other. Their brains are small, relative to a young potato, actually. In fact, I have a specimen right here!"

Professor Falls proceeded to pass a troll brain in a jar around the classroom.

The third and final lesson was one to remember:

"Today we end our unit on trolls. It was, as you might have observed, rather short. This is because there isn't much to know about trolls. Although numerous trolls have been captured and studied, we seem to have found out all that can be found out about them. As you recall from the last class we had, troll brains are quite small and a bit misshapen. Before the end of class today, you will each have a chance to dissect and inspect brain samples from trolls of different ages. You don't have lunch next, do you?"

She was, however, observed as somewhat scary. Professor Falls was brutally honest and blunt as an overused pencil tip. Some professors preferred to keep lessons light in tone, as we were only first years, after all. But like I said, Alexis Falls wasn't one to sugarcoat. There was, however, one moment from that third and final troll lesson that stuck out.

"We've covered just about everything- wait, no, I think that's literally everything- about trolls. In our first lesson, you took notes on spells that could be used to kill or subdue a troll. The thing is, you are first year students. Dumbledore forbid anything like it ever happens again. Back when I was in school, a first year like you, the Battle of Hogwarts occurred. As professors, we're told not to talk much about it. But when I was a first year, I witnessed mass killing. Had the older students, most previous members of Dumbledore's Army, not known lethal spells, I doubt we would have been able to win.

"Younger students like myself were holed up in our respective common rooms for the duration of the battle. This did not obscure our vision of the battlefield. We all felt so helpless. We wanted to help, but none of us could. I do not want to send you into the wizarding world unarmed. I am not going to tell you that killing is wrong. I am not going to tell you that killing is bad, and should never happen. This class is called 'Defense Against The Dark Arts' for a reason. You cannot defend yourselves simply knowing, being informed of what your enemies can do. That will not help you. If you are attacked by a troll, for whatever reason, you need to be able to know how to kill it. In that situation, only one of you comes out alive. I pray it isn't the troll. Study those spells. Practice them. All of them. It is kill or be killed."

Students went on to dissect troll brains, but after that speech, nobody really spoke for the rest of the class. Everyone tried so hard to focus solely on dissection that we were all brain-fried by the time we got to lunch.

We did, by the way, have lunch after troll brain dissection.


	16. Salty As Hell: Rita

The Ravenclaw common room was beautiful. We'd just gotten back from winter break, and snow blanketed the grounds outside and the sills outside the windows, which were hung with blue and bronze silks. The entire room was laid with blue carpeting, except for the area in front of Rowena Ravenclaw's statue. On either side of Rowena was a door, one labeled 'boys' and the other 'girls'. Those doors were the entrances to the respective dormitories. Behind Rowena was an alcove of books. The walls were lined with bookshelves, packed tight with literature. We had books from different ages, different authors, different languages. You didn't have to be the brightest in the bunch to realize that we had a rather extraordinary library. There was no fireplace, simply because we could use the space for more important things. Like more books, for instance.

Meryl favoured a couch near the center of the room. It was overstuffed and piled with way too many pillows. There was a side table on the left end, with a bronze plated lamp that gave off a soft, yellow glow. It got a wee bit lonely in the Ravenclaw dorm, however. I missed Jessica and Kristyn and Felicity from the Aphrodite cabin. I missed Jeanie and Lo, who were at the other end of the school and in the bloody basement. Meryl was really the only person in my house that I was close with. Gemma Ridley was rather friendly. She was only in her fifth year, so I would be in school with her for two more years. It'd be nice if she would take me under her wing, or something like that. That was when I decided that I was going to become her best little friend. Was it Friday night, that I began befriending her? I think so. Not just Gemma though, her friends, Petra, Lucille, Jacob, and Derek too. They were sitting in a little group of couches and chairs, when I walked right up to them and sat down next to Petra and Derek. Petra looked down at me, rather surprised. "Hello there, Rita!" Gemma waved at me from a chair three feet away. "How're you?" she asked. "I'm excellent," I started. "What are we talking about?"

Jacob laughed. "I like this one!" he proclaimed. "Well slow down, because this one isn't sure if she likes you yet." "Damn!" Lucille said. "She salty as hell!" Derek added. Jacob looked rather miffed. "I'm kidding," I told him. "I'm Rita, I'm a bitch, I'm really cute, and I will cut you if you cross me." Gemma looked surprised. Derek high-fived me, and Lucille gave me an approving look. "Yeah," Jacob nodded. "She's good. We're gonna keep her around." And that was that.

The fifth years kind of adopted me. Gemma and Jacob were quite the parents of the group. Lucille was the vodka aunt. Petra was the kind older sister, and Derek was her strange but lovable boyfriend (not actually. Petra likes girls). I was the baby. When I first thought about it, I was somewhat opposed to the idea. But these people thought I was just about the sweetest damn lovely thing ever. Lucille seemed to take a special liking to me. She was the queen bitch, and I was her princess. Petra really just wanted to hug me and tell me how cute I was in Punjabi. Her mother was Indian and her father was Czech, which made for an interesting accent. She was a light shade of brown, with long dark hair. Petra liked to wear lots of gold jewelry and Timbs. We liked to say that Gemma looked like Beyoncé. She was black, with blue eyes and a cute lil 'fro. Gemma didn't wear shoes with heels because she was already 5'11. Lucille was small and curvy, like me. Her hair was blonde, bobbed, curly, and the tips were dyed purple. Lucille's eyes were very green. She had bigger lips than the average white girl, and she knew that. Lucille loved her lips. Derek was tall, lanky, tan, and his eyes were the same dark brown as his short hair. Jacob had an undercut, and the top was long so he wore his blond hair in a half man-bun most of the time.

My hair was beginning to grow out, and it reached about halfway down my neck now. I needed it cut, and when I mentioned this to the group, I found out that Petra's mom was a hairdresser and she gave me a salon-quality cut. All the other first years sat, mystified, as I sat on a stool making friendship bracelets with Derek as Petra cut my hair. Everyone in my year thought it was the coolest possible thing that I was friends with fifth year students. Derek and Petra both liked to think that I was a small bird that must be protected at all costs. I didn't mind. Gemma thought I was the scariest first year she'd ever met. Jacob and Lucille both knew I would fight anyone and win so they let me handle myself most of the time.

That's the not so long story of how I became a lot less lonely.


	17. Cards: Meryl

This probably sounds super lame, but History of Magic was probably my favorite class. Defense Against The Dark Arts was fun and all, but Professor Falls was scary. Professor Binns, however, was borderline boring. Which was kind of nice. Taking a history class made me feel like I was still in a Muggle school. Something normal, or as normal as learning about the origins of witchcraft and wizardry got. We had History of Magic with Hufflepuff, and since most of them were pretty normal too, I could almost pretend I still went to public elementary school. The only magic that happened there was the baking soda volcanoes we made in Science. Don't get me wrong, magic is great. But there were some things about American public school that you just couldn't get at Hogwarts.

"The four founders or Hogwarts were Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw. Godric once hailed from a moor known as Godric's Hollow. He was known as 'the best duellist of his time' and was revered by all. Close behind him in those rankings, was his dear friend Salazar Slytherin, who was one of the earliest known Parseltongues. He was born and raised in an Irish fen. Eventually he was shunned by the other founders and left Hogwarts because of his opinions regarding Muggle-born wizards and witches. Next we have Helga Hufflepuff, who came from the valleys of Wales. She was known for generally being one of the most pleasant and charming, people you'd ever meet. Helga was the only founder who did not place specific personality requirements for members of her house. She was the one who took house elves into the kitchen, providing a safe home for them, where they would not be abused. Lastly is Rowena Ravenclaw, the Scottish founder of Ravenclaw house. It is said that she is the one responsible for the ever-changing floor plan of the castle, and it's name and location. Rowena supposedly had a dream in which a warty hog led her to the cliff by the lake, which you can see out the windows to your left."

* * *

That afternoon, I walked back to the Ravenclaw common room alone. It'd been a long day, and I was tired. Rita and I always looked forwards to relaxing before dinner. My favourite thing to do was play cards. I could play cards for hours on end. Spit, Garbage, Castles, War. It wasn't much fun playing Spit against Rita because she wasn't very good. So oftentimes the two of us would meet Jeanette and Alouisa in the library. Me and Jeanie would play cards, and Lo and Rita would chat while Rita wove string friendship bracelets. We weren't sure if it was because Athena was the patron goddess of weaving, but Rita was excellent at hair braiding, and string bracelets. Rita only spent money on the embroidery floss she used, because a loom was simply unnecessary. Lo would hold tight onto the end while Rita spun and wove and knotted. She seemed to effortlessly create designs and patterns, and it never took her long to finish a bracelet because she was just _that good._ On the rare occasion that she did mess up, instead of spending way too much time unknotting, she threw the entire bracelet away. Sometimes she'd do just one stitch wrong, and give up completely. "Rita," I'd say, "It still looks awesome!" But she'd roll her eyes and cut new lengths of string. When her hands started to hurt, she'd put down the string and we'd all play a game of BS.

Rita wasn't very good at Spit, but she was excellent at BS.


	18. That's it: Rita

I missed Camp Half-Blood. I'd spent only upwards of eight months there, yet it felt like home as much as home did. Don't get me wrong, Hogwarts was a dream come true. But I had Meryl, and my fifth-year crew in my house. Other than that, Lo and Jeanie, but I could only see them so much. Rose and I were friends, but I never really thought we'd be close.

Meryl was just itching to get onto the Quidditch team, but we were only first years. The current announcer was a seventh year, so I had every intention of taking over next year. I was salty and sharp, so the audience would love my commentating, I was sure of it. Once Meryl had made the team, we'd both be involved. There was no way that I was letting the Quidditch team steal her away from me. Oh, that sounded bad. Not what I meant. Meryl was easy to be friends with. Everyone liked her, which meant the second she stepped foot onto the field, she would have a whole new family without emme/emin it. That most certainly would not stand. Meryl was my family! It had always been the two of us. Not only that, but back at camp I was the likable one! The Aphrodite kids liked me because I liked to look good, the Ares cabin liked me because I liked to fight. Apollo's children liked me because I liked music, and I was generally found as agreeable. I was a little bit miffed that everyone at Hogwarts preferred Meryl.

However, whining wasn't going to help me figure out what I was going to do for Meryl's birthday. I had less than a week until January 20th, and I'd planned nothing so far. Frankly, she was so nice to everyone that I wasn't even sure who she was actually friends with. Me, Jeanette, Alousia, but who else? Albus and Scorpius, and perhaps Rose?  
What would she want? I had no idea, and I was her best friend! Something simple, like a cute initial pendant necklace? Or something bookish, like a nice chess board or a collection of Shakespeare?/p

Absentmindedly, I walked into our common room. Gemma and the gang sat around a coffee table, while Petra dealt cards. Jacob looked up and saw me. "Come and play, Rita!" I looked at one of the many floppy, overused decks that were available to students. "That's it!" I yelled, startling Jacob. "Huh?" he asked. "Long story!" I said, and grabbed a sheet of parchment. "I know what I'm getting Meryl!"


	19. Akiva, goddess of?

Akiva rolled her eyes. "Really, mother?"

Athena stood tall, with her lips pursed and arms crossed. "Don't give me attitude, Akiva," she said, but Akiva didn't feel like obliging her mother. "Sorry, mother, that you made some bad choices and I was born." Athena's gaze softened just a bit. "Kiva, you know that isn't how I feel about you. Your father and I were young..." Akiva snorted. "Both of you were at least several millennia old, but okay. And how many times have I told you not to call me Kiva?!" "Don't try to guilt trip me right now, I need to get to Olympus. Zeus has summoned the whole council." Akiva turned away from her mother. "Whatever." Athena sighed, and did a small twirl. She disappeared with a small 'poof!' and some sparkles.

Akiva studied herself in the mirror. Shiny brown hair hung down her back in a Dutch braid, and light bounced off of her sharp cheekbones. She put her face up close to the glass and studied her green eyes, long lashes, and beach-tanned skin. Akiva knew she took after her father more than her mother. How Triton had ever been able to seduce Athena, she had no idea.

* * *

She pushed back some stray hairs, and stood up straight. Akiva looked up at the temple where the Moirai resided. Her bare feet made no noise against the marble floor, and the only noise other than the sound of her breathing came from the back of the room. The sound of their humming struck her to the bone.

 _"Hmmmmmmmmm,"_

She hadn't even seen the Fates yet, and she was already rattled. It was dark, with only a candelabra lit up.

 _"Hmmmmmmmmm,"_

Akiva bit her lip. "Hello?" Her voice echoed through the temple.

 _"Hmmm-"_

The humming cut off. Akiva silently cursed herself for being such a fool. One of the sisters snapped her fingers, and multiple torches were set aflame around the room. Akiva swallowed at sight of the Fates. She had always been told that they were hideous old hags, sinister and ugly. Yet three gorgeous women sat in front of her, one spinning thread, the next measuring the string, and another holding a large pair of silver scissors. They looked at each other, and then back at Akiva, who knelt.

"Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos," she said. "It is an honor to be in your presence." Atropos, the one with the scissors, looked at her sisters and rolled her eyes. "Stand, girl." Akiva got off her knees.

"To what do we owe your presence?" Atropos asked her. She seemed to be the one in charge.

"I want you to curse my mother."

The Fates froze. Lachesis put down her scissors. Atropos looked at her sisters, thinking of something to say. "Girl, I don't think you understand the severity of what you're talking about doing."

"I do," Akiva promised. "What is the price?"

Clotho looked confused. "Price? We don't-" but Lachesis clapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish. "You will lose your status as a goddess and live on Earth as a mortal for the next two millennia." Atropos told me.

At this point, even Lachesis seemed a little confused. "Two? Atro, don't you think that seems like a bit much?"

Atropos rolled her eyes. "Not at all, dear sister." She brought her attention back to Akiva. "Now, what did you have in mind for you mother?"

Akiva smiled.


	20. Myths: Meryl

"Rita!" I called, from the other end of the library aisle. I'd found this book, right? It must have been hundreds of years old. "Shh!" came a voice from somewhere.

Rita put down the book she'd been looking at, and came to see what I was bothering her about. "What's that?" she asked. "Really, I'm not sure quite yet."

I opened the book. "Look what it says! It's about Mom!"

Rita looked around, then knelt down close to me. "Like, Athena?" she whispered, and I nodded in response. "She has a daughter!"

"Well, obviously."

"No, like, a daughter! You know how Athena and Poseidon are arch-rivals?"

Rita nodded again. "Well Poseidon has a son, Triton. He and Athena had a daughter together!"

"You have to be kidding."

"Her name is Akiva, and she's the patron goddess of sirens and seabirds."

I looked down at the picture of her, my half-sister. She didn't look much like either of us. I'm Chinese and Spanish on my father's side, and Rita's Italian-Welsh. But Akiva truly looked like a goddess should, with lightly-tanned porcelain skin and dark hair that fell to her waist in a braid. "She's our sister?" Rita asked me. As far as I knew, Athena didn't have any other godly kids. "Yeah, she is."

"Why haven't we heard of her?"

That was the interesting part. "Listen to this!" I began, and read,

"Akiva called upon the Fates, three sisters in charge of life, death, and everything in-between. She approached them, asking for a curse to place on her mother. However, the Fates, played a trick on her instead, giving her the curse but telling her the only way to get it was to live as a mortal for two thousand years."

I looked at Rita. "The origin of this myth came about just below two thousand years ago, Rita. Maybe she's out there somewhere! We need to find her!"

Rita seemed uncomfortable. "Meryl, she wanted to hurt our mom! Does it say why?"

I scanned the book and shook my head. "No, I don't see anything."

Not as if I was going to let that stop me, though. "I mean, but still Rita-"

Rita gently took the book from my hands and placed it back onto its shelf. "Meryl, if you really care this much,"

"I do!"

Rita sighed. "Then we'll contact someone at camp, okay? We have enough on our plates."

I was about to say something salty when a voice came from behind us. "Eh-em."

Rita and I jumped nearly out of our own skin.

We turned around. Deputy Headmistress Falls was standing there. It was the first time I'd been up close to her. She had smile lines by the corners of her eyes, a beauty mark right below her right eye, and her bangs weren't as long as I'd thought. Or maybe she'd cut them.

"You know, some say that Akiva could take siren form." Falls sat down cross-legged on the floor, next to us. Rita was enraptured. "Could she?"

Rita has a few irrational fears, like the ocean and pine trees. Apparently, Athena was posing as a marine biologist when she met Mr LaRayn. Ever since she'd heard that story, she's had a hateful infatuation with water. Hearing this story about having a daughter who also left her, maybe for the sea, maybe Mom did too.

Professor Falls ran a manicured hand through her black hair. "It's a little-known myth, of course. Are you familiar with Amphitrite?"

"Poseidon's wife?" Rita asked.

Falls nodded. "You see, it was said that Akiva often times found a motherly figure in Amphitrite, her grandmother. Triton was an irresponsible bastard, and left his father and mother in charge of Akiva when she spent time under the sea. The sea god and his wife raised Akiva for most of her childhood, as she refused to spend time with her mother until she was centuries old."

"How do you know all this?" I asked her. "The wizarding world has better archeologists then anyone the muggles could possibly have."

I looked at Rita. This could help us find her! Rita looked at me, telling me I was right without using words. We were going to find our sister.


	21. Private Server: Rita

I sat on my bed, writing a paper for one class or another. I couldn't even remember. Ocean jumped onto the bed, and sat down on my parchment. "You're an idiot," I told her.

"I hope you aren't talking to me that way!" Meryl said, walking into the room. I shook my head and pointed at Ocean. "She's being a bitch."

Meryl looked at me with wide eyes. "Rita!"

"What?"

"Watch your language! You've been cursing a lot more ever since you started hanging out with those fifth years..."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said."

"And what is that supposed to mean? Derek and Lucille are really the only ones in the group that curse anyway."

"You're just cursing because you want to sound cool."

"I do not!"

Meryl rolled her eyes at me, and I was thinking about something really mean to say when I decided that I didn't feel like fighting with my best friend. I sighed. "Do you have anything else on Akiva?"

"I think I've found just about everything there is."

Ocean stood up to stretch and I took the opportunity to pick her up and plop her down on a pillow. Underneath the my homework was my laptop, which I opened up. There were several already opened tabs into the origins of Greek myths, none of which said anything about Akiva.

"We need to talk to somebody at camp about this." I told Meryl, even though I knew she didn't want any help. "Well how would we contact them? The new phones and tablets aren't foolproof. You were there when Chiron told us there was danger of explosions!"

"Oh, big deal! Besides, Charlie Weasley gave me access to the school's private server. The password is 'lemondrops.'"

"He did what?!" Meryl asked, and then shook her head. "No, no. Do not change the topic."

"I am not! I could contact camp, I just don't know who to send the text to."

"You could use an Iris message. You know, to get to Camp Half-Blood."

I screamed and Meryl jumped in her seat. We turned around to see who else but Professor Falls. After I got over the initial shock of having the living daylights scared out of me, I took a deep breath and turned to Falls.

"A what? And how do we use it?"

Meryl was looking at me in disbelief. "Rita!"

"What? It's the only thing we have right now!"

"We don't need anyone at camp to help us."

"Still here, you know," Professor Falls said.

Meryl bit her lip. "How do you know about our camp? Did you go there?

Falls shook her head. "No, I'm not a demigod. That would make me something special. The same as you, actually. But no. I, uh, associated with one of your kind. The higher up kind, if you know what I mean."

"The gods?" I asked her. "You had a relationship with a god. A Greek god."

"Yes," she answered and suddenly became very interested in her Sam Edelman boots.

"Professor?" Meryl spoke up.

"Yes, Meryl?"

"Did you, um... did you have a child?"

Falls stifled a laugh. "No, but oh, we were going to. A beautiful baby. Girl or boy, it didn't matter. We were going to send it to this camp, where it would learn everything it would ever need."

"What happened?" Meryl spoke again. "Not to pry, or anything."

"I woke up one day and he was gone."

I couldn't believe it. "Just like that?"

Falls nodded. "Just like that."

We sat in silence. I cleared my throat. "So how do we send an Iris message?"


	22. Evie Edwards

Akiva was a little pissed. Of course, that wasn't her name right now. Her name for the next few decades would be Evie. It was the year 1847, and Akiva had found herself outside of the manor of the Edwards, a wealthy English family. Akiva coughed and polished her accent under her breath. "My name is Evie, and I am seeking refuge from a family who could manage to take me in."

She straightened her nasty blue dress. Hideous, she thought. Never again would she purposely wear such a disastrous garment. But she still had about 200 years left to serve as payment for her curse, and frankly it got boring without doing anything fun. _This_ was fun. Akiva knocked on the door. A butler opened the door, tall and gray. "I'd like to speak with the man or woman of the house."

He looked Akiva up and down, then nodded and gestured for him to follow her. The butler showed her to a sitting room. Akiva sat down on the soft upholstery. Oh, how she had missed satin furnishings.

Soon enough, a handsome middle-aged couple walked in. The woman wore a rose-colored dress. It was clearly very expensive. She sat across from Akiva, along with her just as well-dressed husband. "Who might you be?" she asked, not impolite. "My name is Evie, and I am seeking refuge from a family who could manage to take me in."

The woman nodded, her face expressionless.

"I am willing to work for room and board, but I would take into consideration how socially adept I am. If for whatever reason, you decided to take me in as one of your own, you would not be disappointed."

Akiva softly snapped her fingers.

The woman looked at her husband, who nodded. The man cleared his throat. "My dear, Evie, you said?"

Akiva nodded.

"We are indeed willing to take you in. You see, my wife and I were only able to have three children, and our eldest daughter succumbed to pneumonia just last year. We believe you would make a... fine replacement. My name is Alexander, and this is my wife, Eleanor. However, you will be introduced to the public as our niece, and you will call us Aunt and Uncle."

Eleanor leaned forwards and took Akiva's hand in hers. "You look like her too," she whispered. "Now, I'll have the maid run a bath for you. She will also show your to your room, darling. I assume you do not have any personal belongings to bring with you."

"Yes, Auntie." Akiva said, and Eleanor smiled. "Lucy!" she called, and a small redheaded girl in a maid's outfit walked briskly into the room. "Yes ma'am?"

"Take Evie here up to Alice's old room and run her a bath. She will be living with us from now on."

Lucy bit her lip and nodded. "If you would follow me, Miss Evie."

Akiva stood up and followed the maid into a bedroom. It was fully furnished and cleaned but clearly nobody had slept in that bed for a while. Lucy led her into an adjoining bathroom. "Would you prefer rose bath oil or lavender? Or are neither of those to your liking?"

"Rose will do." Akiva said, and undressed while Lucy ran her a bath. It had been _so_ long since she'd had a proper bath.

* * *

When Akiva got out of the bath, there was a soft robe waiting for her, laid across her new bed. Akiva toweled off her hair and flopped onto the mattress. Very soft, she noted. While her hair air-dried, she went through the chest of drawers. Most of the dresses fit her, although a few were a bit outdated and no longer considered quite as stylish. It didn't matter, though. The Edwards could afford to buy her a whole new wardrobe if they needed to.

Akiva pulled a dress out. It was off the shoulder, with a full bodice and gathered overskirt. She had no need for a corset. When her hair was dry, she stood in front of the mirror and perfectly plaited a braid in her hair.

There were no shoes for her. In bare feet, Akiva walked into the hallway and nearly bumped into a girl around her age. "Oh!" she said. "Oh, are you Evie?"

Akiva nodded. "Yes, and um," she laughed and gestured down at her feet. "I'm in need of a pair of shoes."

"Of course you do! I'm Kate. I'm sure we'll get along quite well," she said as led Akiva into her boudoir. Kate rifled through a bureau and pulled out a pair of leather high-laced boots. "Here you go, these should fit."

Akiva tried them on. They were several sizes too big. She snapped her finger quietly behind her back and they shrunk to fit her little feet. "Lovely!"

Kate smiled. "Come here, before you meet the rest of the family, let me doll you up a little bit."

She sat Akiva down in front of a vanity and pulled out an embellished box. "You have an excellent complexion, dear, but you're a bit too tanned."

Kate opened the box to reveal all sorts of cosmetics, from cold cream, pearl powder, carmine rouge and pink eye paint to various shades of lip balm. Kate applied cold cream and pearl powder to Akiva's face, then massaging carmine rouge onto her cheeks. "Close your eyes, darling," Kate instructed so she could smooth a light layer of eye paint over Akiva's lids. "Purse your lips!" she said so that red-stained lip balm could be rubbed into the lips.

"Evie, you look wondrous!" Kate said. "Come now, downstairs, and we'll show Mother how I've done! You'll need to meet William as well, of course. He's my brother."

A brother, Akiva thought. This was news to her. "Don't mind him if he's a bit of a twat when he first meets you, he'll warm up, I promise!"

Kate kept talking, and Akiva wasn't listening.

* * *

Akiva had been living in the Edwards' mansion for a week now, and oh, was she loving it.

There was a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in!"

Lucy meekly opened the door. "Miss Evie, Kate and William have invited you to play a game of badminton on the court outside."

"I would love to Lucy, but what do I wear for that?"

Lucy went into the wardrobe and pulled out a straight-skirted dress with a thin bodice.

"This, Miss Evie, should be more than adequate."

"Thank you, Lucy."

Akiva slipped on the dress and met Kate and Will on the badminton court as they had asked. "I'd love to play," she said, "But you'll have to teach me how."

William rolled his eyes. "Of course you've never played badminton. What was I thinking, expecting a wretch like you to know the game."

Kate smacked him on the arm. "William!"

Akiva laughed, even though she was seeing red. "Oh dear Kate, he's right! Why would I know how to play badminton? Still, let me have a go at it!"

William tossed her a racket. "Okay, so I'm going to serve the birdie, and you need to get it back over the net with one hit. If the birdie goes past any of these white lines, it's out and the person who didn't hit it gets a point, okay?"

"Wonderful!"

"I'll have you know that I am quite excellent at badminton, so don't feel bad if you aren't as good as me."

William served, and Akiva hit the birdie back over the net with ease. "This is fun!" she said, as William hit the birdie underhand. Akiva flicked it back over without a second thought.

And so it went on. No matter what, Akiva didn't lose a point. In fact, nobody had scored, and Kate had been keeping track of how many times the birdie had been hit during the ralley.

"Fourteen, fifteen..."

"Sixty-two, sixty-three..."

Akiva held a glass of rose water in one hand and the racket in her other. She had yet to break a sweat, but on the other side of the court William was pouring buckets, surely ruining his new vest.

Then, all of a sudden, out of literally nowhere, Akiva jumped up and hit the birdie right before it went over the net, smashing it down.

She'd gotten a point.

"That was fun!" she said, smiling. "Kate, how about we take a walk in the garden?"

Kate linked arms with her. "Oh Evie, let's!"

William was left there to sit on the court and think of ways to ruin her life.


	23. A Birthday At Hogwarts: Meryl

"Meryl!" Rita whispered. I sat up in bed, and saw my shadowed best friend sitting on the other end of my bed. _"Lumos!"_ she said, and the tip of her wand lit up. In her other hand was a small parcel wrapped in shiny blue paper with a little bow on top.

"Aw, Rita!" I started to say, but she put a finger to my lips. "Nope," she said. "Let me finish!"

Rita cleared her throat. "Exactly one year ago, on this day, you celebrated your birthday at Camp Half-Blood, and soon enough we'll be back there. We'll train and stuff, and next year you'll join the Quidditch team, and I just want you to know that you're my best friend and I love you."

"Can I open my present now?"

"Yes."

Carefully, I untied the bow and gently pulled the tape off of the bottom so I could open it without ripping any paper. Inside was a deck of cards, each one with a view of the night sky on it. But when I opened the box and pulled out a card, I saw that the stars on each card twinkled just like the ones in night sky.

"They're beautiful!" I said. Rita smiled. "The master of presents strikes again!"

I took a moment to appreciate how strikingly _right_ everything in life was. Everything was so good, it hardly seemed real. The air was sweet and cold, gently seeping in from a window that was open just a crack. Rita smelled like expensive perfume, Anna Sui, probably. I looked at Ocean, sitting on Rita's bed. Rita followed my gaze. "I don't think she likes her name." Rita said. "What?"

"I think she knows that I don't like the water. I don't even know why I named her Ocean. It's a dumb name. She doesn't respond to it."

"Well what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you think about Bleu?"

"Blue?"

"Yeah, but French. B-l-e-u."

"Ooh, I like that."

Rita got off of my bed and picked up her cat. "Your name is Bleu now, okay?"

Bleu tilted her head. Rita put the cat down and sat on my bed again. "Bleu!" she said, and the cat jumped into her lap.

"I think Bleu likes her name a lot better." I told Rita.

"You wanna play a game of cards?"

"Yes, but I'm not playing Spit because it's my birthday and I want to lose with dignity."

Rita snorted. Suddenly, she got serious. "Do you think Albus is gay?"

"Woah, okay. Hold up. We just went from you being better at cards than me to one of our friends being gay. Where is this even coming from?" I watched Rita as she put her head in her hands and sighed. "Are you kidding me?" she asked. "You literally have to be kidding me."

"I'm not?"

"Meryl, you know I have an excellent gaydar. Remember when I told you that our friend Louis was gay and you didn't believe me, but then the next he told us that he had a huge crush on Cole Sprouse?" I remembered. "Well, do you have any reasoning to go along with that or are you making things up?"

"When do I ever make things up?" Rita questioned. "Really, Rita?"

"Okay, fine. But I'm serious I just have a gut feeling."

"You had four bowls of pasta for dinner. Should we really trust your gut feeling right now?"

Rita stuck her tongue out at me. "Whatever. Are you playing cards with me or not?"

"Yeah. Let's play War."

* * *

The next morning was, thankfully, a Saturday. I must have woken up late, because Rita wasn't there. I found Rita in the Great Hall, with a plate full of pineapple. "You can't just get pineapple!"

"I can so!" Rita retorted, but she also grabbed sizable portions of banana and honeydew melon. We sat down and I watched her hands, small hands with thin fingers and long, painted nails. She picked up a fork and stabbed a pineapple chunk. "I love fruit," she said, for no reason in particular. I shook my head and laughed. I'd gotten eggs and bacon. Rita saw my breakfast and made a face. "Ugh, really?"

"What's with the face? Are you gonna go vegetarian or something?"

"No, I like tacos too much. But if it weren't for tacos, yes, I would."

I laughed. "And white chicken chili?"

"Mmm, white chicken chili. Dammit Meryl, now I'm hungry for dinner at breakfast!"

"Oops."

Rita rolled her eyes and spun around in her seat, so she faced outwards from the table. She dropped her fork and it landed with a clatter that was unnoticable against the usual noise in the Great Hall. "Who... who is that?"

I wasn't sure I'd ever seen her look quite like that. I followed her gaze. Rita grabbed my arm and her nails dug into my wrist. "Ow!" I yelped. The boy she was looking at was tall, for a second year at least. He was rather brown colored, and I wasn't sure what his ethnicity was. He looked a bit Middle Eastern to me. Rita didn't seem to care. "Oh my gods," she said. "He's tall, dark and handsome!"

I looked at him and then back to Rita. "He's not really that dark."

She showed me her eggshell-white arm. "He's a lot darker than me!"

Rita leaned forwards, breaking her usual perfect posture to put her head in her hands and stare. "I love him." Rita decided.

"You don't even know his name!"

The boy exchanged high-fives with a friend. "Morning, Jax!"

"Jax!" Rita said. "It's perfect." She turned to look at me. "Engagement rings go on your left hand, right?"


	24. Trust: Rita

In the end, I knew Meryl well enough to know that she would appreciate a small, midnight game of cards just as much as a party and a cake for her birthday.

But there were new matters at hand.

I lay on the common room floor with my head in Lucille's lap. "He's beautiful!"

I was talking about Jax, obviously. "What house is he in?" Derek asked me. For a moment, I was taken aback. "I suppose I was so surprised by his exquisite face that I didn't notice." Petra rolled her eyes. "You're too young for any of this! I didn't ask a girl out until I was in my third year." From my other side, Gemma laughed. "Yeah, and how did that work out, Petra?"

"Look, I didn't know you were straight!"

My eyes widened. "Woah, what? Hold up- Petra- you asked Gemma out in your third year?" Both of them laughed. "Yeah. She didn't know I was a lesbian and I didn't know she wasn't." I smiled. "Well I'm already planning my wedding!"

Jacob made a face. "You're, like, two."

"Shut up."

Lucille fixed her perfectly curled bob. "i think Rita should follow her heart. Now, who's going to paint my nails?" She looked at me, wiggling a bottle of purple polish, as if that would somehow entice me. "What do I get in return?" I asked her. Lucille thought for a moment. "I'll bring you back whatever candy you want from the next Hogsmeade trip."

"Deal!" I agreed, and shook Lucy's hand. "Now where's your clear coat?"

* * *

I watched as Lucille lay on her back and admired her freshly-painted nails. "Thanks a million Rita!"

She rolled onto her stomach and looked at me. I knew that look. So did the rest of us. "Oh dear, whoever are you going after now?" asked Gemma. Lucille made a face. "His name is Kevin." Derek nodded. "I know him. Slytherin, right?" Lucille nodded. "He's so dark and mysterious and handsome... I've caught him staring at me in Transfiguration."

"It's no bloody wonder that Rita has acquired all these womanly wiles, Lucy! She's caught them from you!" Petra looked very sure of herself on this notion.

From across the room, Meryl caught my eye. "Come here!" she mouthed. I looked around at my friends. "I'll be back later!"

"Be back soon, darling!" Lucille called after me. "Now, about Kevin..."

Meryl held a large, decrepit book. "Professor Falls says she's going to meet us in the library!"

"What? What for?"

"She's going to help us find out more about Akiva!"

"Meryl, what the hell are you talking about?!"

She grabbed my hand with hers and pulled me aside. "We need to learn more about our sister, Rita." I pulled my hand away. "We certainly do not! She's no sister of ours. And what are we going to say when she asks us why we're so interested? We certainly won't tell her the truth!"

"I know, Rita. But imagine, maybe they don't even know about Akiva back at camp! The books say Athena thinks of her as a disgrace!"

"If our mother doesn't want anyone to know about her, maybe it should stay that way! You're being intransigent, Meryl."

"Rita, just give it a chance! You're the one being stubborn! If you don't get a good vibe from it, you can leave. Please trust me on this one."

And it was then that I remembered why I was friends with Meryl. Not just because our dads were friends, but because we fit together like two puzzle pieces. Meryl knew what she was talking about, she always did. I took her hand. "I trust you."


	25. Lunch: Meryl

I couldn't see out the window. It had completely frosted over. Ravenclaws of every year huddled in front of the common room's large marble fireplace.

All outdoor classes had been canceled until further notice, and Professor Longbottom had evacuated the greenhouse. Apparently it was too cold for his plants in there. The Great Hall now sported quite a bit of greenery.

Rita curled up on a sofa with Bleu in her lap, and wrapped a blanket around herself so all that could be seen were their two faces.

Bleu looked up at Rita, purred, and licked her chin. Rita giggled. "Bleu, that tickles!"

I looked at my watch, which had been my father's Christmas gift to me. "It's lunch, Rita. If we wait any longer all the good stuff will be gone!"

Rita snuggled deeper into her blanket. "Oh, but it's cold!!"

"I know you're hungry, Rita. Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!"

The blanket burrito flew open, and there Rita stood, ready for lunch.

"Meow.."

Rita looked down, and there was Bleu, looking a bit upset. Rita carefully picked the blanket up and wrapped it around the cat, and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Bleu meowed again, more contentedly.

"Oh, come on, Rita!

I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the common room, down into the hallway.

Just as we hopped onto a stairway, it began to move.

"Bloody hell!" Rita yelled.

"Relax," I told her as I kept walking down the stairs.

"Where are you going? You need to wait until it stops moving!"

There were a dozen steps left, and after that an open void, full of other moving staircases. One of them happened to be almost directly below us, just a meter or two down.

Of course, they were still moving, and in opposite directions.

"Rita, jump with me!"

She held onto the railing at the bottom stair. "You're ridiculous! You'll get in trouble!"

I laughed. "Nobody gets in trouble at Hogwarts!"

The stairs were still moving, and I was about to lose my chance to jump from one to another. I reached out for Rita's hand.

She made a face, but took it. We squatted on the bottom of the staircase, and counted to three.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

We jumped, flailing our arms and landing on our feet.

Rita looked pale, but then again she was always pale.

"See?" I began to say. "We aren't going to get in any trouble!"

From the top of the staircase, somebody started a slow clap.

"Wonderful!" said Professor Falls. "Brilliant show!"

Rita turned to look at me and stared, in shock and anger. "Look what you've done!" she hissed through her teeth.

Falls walked toward us.

"I'm so sorry Professor, it was all my idea-"

"Oh, Meryl! Don't get your robes in a twist. What good calculations you must have made, and such innovative problem solving!"

She turned to Rita and winked. "Ten points to Ravenclaw, on me."


	26. Party Ponies: Rita

"You've no idea the ordeal I've been through!" I moaned, while Gemma braided my hair and I painted Lucille's nails.

"I didn't know the stairs could move that fast! I'm shaking just mentally reliving it."

"How do you feel about cornrows?" Gemma asked.

I paused painting Lucy's nails and felt my head.

"Dumbledore's beard, Gemma! I don't even have that much hair!"

Gemma laughed. "It's alright, I'll take them out."

"Eh-hem!" Lucy said, and wiggled her half manicured nails in my face.

I rolled her eyes. "Do you want stripes or flowers?"

Lucy thought for a moment. "One striped accent nail on each finger!" she said, decidedly.

"Rita!"

Meryl called me from across the room.

I shook my head.

"When I'm done with Lucy's manicure!"

I looked over my shoulder.

"And when Gemma takes these cornrows out!"

Later, when I caught up with Meryl, she informed me that she'd made a discovery.

"We need to tell the Deputy Headmistress righrighy away!" she told me.

"Um, hold on there, Meryl. You know my feelings about her have somewhat shifted positively, but how about you tell me first?"

Meryl nodded at me. "Okay. I was in the restricted section in the library, and-"

"The restricted section? Since when do you break rules?"

"As I was saying, I found a book that links the centaurs living in the Forbidden Forest to the centaurs that live back home."

"... The Party Ponies? The centaurs in the Forbidden Forest. And the Party Ponies?"

"Yes. The Party Ponies."

"As in, _those_ Party Ponies?"

"Yes!"

You see, I was having a little bit of trouble connecting the water pistol-wielding, face painted Party Ponies to the mysterious, elegant centaurs that hid in the forest behind Howarts.

"How does that help us, exactly?" I asked.

Meryl looked at me. "Isn't it obvious? We need to go see the centaurs."


	27. Dungeons: Meryl

Rita's boots scuffed quietly against the stone stairway of the castle.

"Would you quiet down?" I whispered aggressively.

"It isn't my fault!" she growled back at me.

Jeanette waited at the entrance to the Slytherin dungeons as promised. "Come in, but be quiet." she whispered. Albus sat on a sofa, warming his hands in front of a fireplace whose flames burned an eerie shade of green.

Jeanie looked at Rita, who nodded in approval, before returning to her own room. Albus turned to face us. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

Rita shrugged, and Albus sighed."It would be a lot easier to help you if you told me why you need to see the centaurs."

I took a step towards him. "We haven't been completely honest about where we're from, and-"

Rita cleared her throat. "The centaurs have information we need about our mother."

"Your mother? Wait, you two are sisters?"

Albus glanced from my olive face to Rita's pale one. Her angled and accented features were polar to my heart shaped jaw and round nose. But he looked from my eyes to hers, and something in him clicked. Albus nodded.

"Your eyes."

Rita exhaled. "We got them from our mother."

She looked at me, her eyes saying what she couldn't. Exactly how much more did Albus need to know?

With a small shake of her head in my direction, Rita continued to talk.

"That will be all you need to know right now. I'm sorry for how abrupt this is, but if the centaurs are going to let anyone talk to them, it's you."

Albus furrowed his eyebrows. "Because of my dad?"

Carefully, I eased the conversation away from Harry Potter, who I knew Albus resented.

"Partly, and also because you know so much about them, and everything else in the Forbidden Forest."

"Okay." Albus said, flatly.

Rita blinked. "Wait, really?"

"Yes."


	28. Readied: Rita

I couldn't believe how stupid I'd been. To think Scorpius was cute, and Albus was Meryl's type.

The two of them were clearly more interested in each other.

After Albus had agreed to take us into the Forest, he quickly returned to his room to wake Scorpius, and let him know where he was going.

"Are you sure about this?" I heard Scorpius ask him.

Albus sighed. "I'm the only one who can help them. They've been nothing but kind to me. I need to."

Of course, I still thought Scorpius was rather cute, but I wasn't anyone to stand in the way of two people who were headed in the right direction.

Meryl looked worried, for reason.

"Rita, what if we asked Professor Falls to help us too?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You want to ask the Deputy Headmistress to help us navigate the Forbidden Forest past curfew?"

"But Rita, she knows about this stuff. She was in love with one of the gods. What about that Iris message she told us about?"

"We need a drachma for that. So unless you have one, we're out of luck. And besides, she still hasn't asked _us_ how we know about the Camp. That's a little bit sketchy."

"What are you saying?" Meryl looked at me, puzzled.

Just then, Albus returned to the room. "Are you guys ready?"

I didn't let Meryl answer.

"As we'll ever be."


End file.
